Super Bowl champ C.J. Anderson seeks to improve Benicia High School football program
CJ Anderson seeks to improve Benicia's high school football program
Super Bowl champion and Vallejo native CJ Anderson was named Benicia's new head football coach in February. He wants to create stability, improve everything around the program, and help his players get to the next level.
BENICIA, Calif. - Super Bowl 50 champion C.J. Anderson is back in Solano County, but this time as head football coach of Benicia High School.
Anderson is on a mission to show his team the blueprint of success so it can benefit them in high school and college.
"We're not going to win games, or you're not going to go to the next level because C.J. Anderson is your head coach. You still have to earn it and put in the work. I'm going to guide you and put you in the right position, and we'll see how that goes," said Anderson.
Anderson was named head coach for Benicia's football team in February. His new challenge is creating stability for the Panthers' program, which has had three different head coaches in the past couple of years.
Anderson said getting more wins is important, but his priority is to use his NFL connections to shed more light on his players.
"My network is because of football, because of what the NFL has done for me and having a guy like Deshaun Foster [UCLA's head coach], but me and him are really tight because of our NFL ties. Having Bill Belichick, who I've played against for a long time, who's now at North Carolina and I can call and text him when I want to. Having those coaches where I can have them come through and see our kids. It's the same thing I did at Monte Vista, and I'm bringing that network here," said Anderson.
Anderson was the head coach of Monte Vista in 2021 and had five players sign Division 1 scholarships.
He left the program when he got an opportunity to coach running backs at Rice University and went back to school at UC Berkeley to earn his masters so he could become a head coach at the collegiate level at some point.
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Anderson said he's been up front with Benicia High School regarding that aspiration. However, he's been creating fundraisers to enhance everything around the program.
"The field looks really good, but the field is 6, 7 years old, but you kind of want to redo that every year. Scoreboard is another one…so our kids can see themselves like you see in other programs. The weight room can be completely revamped into a weight room and not a recreational 24-hour Fitness or In-Shape. We could always use extra helmets and shoulder pads just because, in the reconditioning process, you lose some," said Anderson.
Anderson believes he's the perfect leader for this program since he wasn't a 5-star player out of high school, had to go the junior college route, and went undrafted.
"I know what it's like being a successful kid, like I've been in every area when I did that, and also know what it's like being the kid that's overlooked and had to grind my way up. I definitely love that about myself and I can relate to the kids that way big time," he said.